RW Ventures’ analysis of the impact of foreclosures on neighborhood property values has garnered attention from civic sector stakeholders. Bob Weissbourd and Michael He presented the findings of the firm’s work for the Cook County Assessor’s office in addresses to both the National League of Cities’ Community and Economic Development Committee and the City of Milwaukee’s Community Economic Development Committee.
The Dynamic Neighborhood Taxonomy (DNT) project provides new analysis on how urban neighborhoods operate, how they change over time, what factors determine their success and how these dynamics vary across different types of neighborhoods. In doing so, the project also created a new generation of analytic tools for businesses, investors, funders, governments and community development practitioners to use in better targeting investments and interventions in urban communities. The findings and tools from this major three-year collaborative project, sponsored by Living Cities, are detailed in an Executive Summary, Report and Appendices.
The Dynamic Neighborhood Taxonomy (DNT) project provides new analysis on how urban neighborhoods operate, how they change over time, what factors determine their success and how these dynamics vary across different types of neighborhoods. In doing so, the project also created a new generation of analytic tools for businesses, investors, funders, governments and community development practitioners to use in better targeting investments and interventions in urban communities. The findings and tools from this major three-year collaborative project, sponsored by Living Cities, are detailed in an Executive Summary, Report and Appendices.
This presentation, prepared for the Aspen Institute Roundtable and Funders’ Exchange on Community Change, Poverty Reduction and Prosperity Promotion, presents a new framework for thinking about neighborhood change, as well as a new set of findings from the Dynamic Neighborhood Taxonomy project.
This paper, published in the Williams Review, presents selected results from the first phase of the Dynamic Neighborhood Taxonomy Project. In particular, the paper investigates two key questions relating to the dynamics of neighborhood change: the extent to which change in housing prices at the neighborhood level is driven by change in the region, and the extent to which neighborhoods tend to converge over time.
The Dynamic Neighborhood Taxonomy (DNT) project provides new analysis on how urban neighborhoods operate, how they change over time, what factors determine their success and how these dynamics vary across different types of neighborhoods. In doing so, the project also created a new generation of analytic tools for businesses, investors, funders, governments and community development practitioners to use in better targeting investments and interventions in urban communities. The findings and tools from this major three-year collaborative project, sponsored by Living Cities, are detailed in an Executive Summary, Report and Appendices.
The increasing attention paid to the region as a key unit of economic activity has given rise to powerful new economic development strategies. By focusing on economic rather than political boundaries, regional approaches can more effectively tackle development issues and devise more comprehensive strategies for economic growth. This conclusion is well articulated in the recent Report of the Strengthening America’s Communities Advisory Committee. However, the regional scope of the strategy does not mean that its focus and interventions can be limited to a regional level. To succeed in the long run, regional strategies must reflect the connections between the region and its cities and neighborhoods – all of the communities which constitute the region. The economic prosperity of the region and of its communities is inextricably intertwined.
To read more, download the Strengthening Communities PDF.
These two complementary papers written for the Brookings Institution’s Urban Markets Initiative examine the role of information resources in spurring markets and creating investment strategies to boost urban neighborhoods. The papers offer a framework for market-based community economic development, presenting business-planning tools for inner city communities.
These reports exemplify a line of work conducted with MetroEdge for the Annie E. Casey Foundation and other community development institutions across the country. RW Ventures conducts specialized market analysis to assess the economic potential of urban neighborhoods, particularly for the purpose of commercial development. Using specialized metrics, data and software, we can evaluate the market opportunity for commercial development in specific neighborhoods and locations, providing community and government leaders with intelligence to attract and grow business in their cities.
In planning its activities for the next decade, Living Cities commissioned RW Ventures and the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program to undertake the design phase for a ten-year project that would invest in information to drive inner-city market investment, asset-building and policy reform. The work presented in this report resulted in the creation of the Urban Markets Initiative.
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